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Walking Corpse	By : suomynonakun Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 7267 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Only moments after Tenten had left, Akatsuki members swarmed out of the forest at Neji. As he struggled to fend off the sheer quantity of people attacking, he couldn�t help but think that for the genius of the Hyuuga clan, the decision to try and fight off so many people alone had been rather stupid.

But he�d had no choice. If he had gone with Tenten to warn the Hokage it would have been an open invitation for Akatsuki to enter Konoha.

He was surrounded now�he didn�t need the Byakugan to tell him that. Neji slashed though an attacker on his right with his dagger before spinning quickly, his long raven hair flying through the air at the momentum. He stopped the chakra flow to the arms of a man behind him with his unoccupied hand, stabbing another with his dagger.

He moved quickly, never keeping his back to anyone for too long, trying to keep the ever-closing circle of attackers at bay.

With the Byakugan he could see a man behind him and slightly to his left lifting a kunai to stab him. Grabbing the surprised ninja in front of him, he spun around. The Akatsuki member stabbed his own comrade and Neji shoved his now limp human shield into him, knocking him off balance. He didn�t bother turning as a man rushed him from the right, instead just sticking his dagger out at the last moment, allowing the man to impale himself. He unceremoniously ripped the dagger from the shinobi�s chest and ignored the blood that splattered across his clothes.

Pain suddenly ripped through his back and the shock of it sent him to his knees. He caught himself with his hands, preventing his face from meeting the dirt. Turning his head he could see a kunai imbedded near his shoulder blade.

He had not seen the kunai coming, which either meant that someone had gotten lucky and found his blind spot, or someone knew about it.

When he had gone down the circle of men stopped attacking. Several of them dispersed, and Neji could see that behind him Akatsuki members had begun scaling the wall, using their chakra to stick to it as they walked vertically up it.

The remaining men around him shifted and a ninja stepped into the center, standing behind him. He wore a wide grin and hitai-ate with a horizontal scratch through the symbol of the cloud. His black hair was tied in a short ponytail at the nape of his neck and his chin was covered with a small goatee.

�Hyuuga-san,� he said, and Neji turned his head to him in surprise. With his Anbu mask on, the trademark eyes of his clan were hidden from view. How did he know he was a Hyuuga?

�At least,� the man said, running a hand over his goatee. �I�m assuming you are one of the Hyuuga clan. The Gentle Fist style that you fight in and the ability to know what�s happening behind you would indicate that.�

The ninja circled Neji, remaining a good distance away from him. One swipe with his dagger or his other hand full of chakra would likely be the end of him. The Hyuuga was down, but to count him out would be a gross error in judgment.

�So which are you?� the cloud ninja said curiously. �You�re too young to be Hiashi. You�re a male so you�re obviously not Hinata or Hanabi.� He paused, thinking. �Perhaps�are you Neji?�

Neji didn�t respond and he managed to keep his surprised reigned in. How did a cloud nin know so much about his clan?

As if he could hear the question in Neji�s thoughts, the man spoke. �I�ve been studying the Hyuuga for quite some time. My village was very interested in the secret of the Byakugan. My father even gave his life for the cause, trying to kidnap the oldest daughter of the main family. Your uncle killed him.�

In an instant Neji understood who this man was. The son of the Cloud�s leader, who had attempted to kidnap Hinata when she was a child.

�I finally figured out the switch Konoha pulled on us. I suppose we have that in common�father�s giving their lives for the greater good.�

Neji�s fists clenched, his right hand tightening around the hilt of his dagger, while his left ended up grabbing a handful of dirt as he slowly rose to his feet. Dropping the dirt, he reached over his shoulder and wrenched the kunai from his back, tossing it to the ground with a thunk. This man�s father was responsible for his own father�s death.

Sudden screams from behind him drew his attention to the wall, which Tenten now stood on top of, tossing kunai after kunai down at those walking up it. In all the years Neji had fought with her he never discovered where she managed to hide all of those weapons, but she was never lacking them. She hadn�t even bothered to summon any with a scroll yet.

The cloud ninja had slipped from the center of the circle when Neji had stood. The ninjas still surrounding him began to tighten the diameter of their circle. They all held some type of weapon, from kunai to katana.

Neji could clearly see the grinning Cloud shinobi as the circle suddenly rushed at him. His perceptive eyes also didn�t miss the look of shock on his face as he created a sudden flare of chakra, which surrounded him like a dome, knocking all thrown weapons and several of the men away.
Those still surrounding him readied themselves for another attack. Neji was becoming impatient. He did not want to fight these men. Both he and the former Cloud shinobi had grudges that could only be settled by fighting one another. Yes, Neji had nothing to do with this man�s father�s death, nor did the Cloud shinobi have anything to do with the death of his own father. But each man represented the reason why the other was fatherless and for that, Neji was going to kill him.
�Neji, my rival!� a loud voice called as two of the ninjas around him were suddenly slammed together with enough intensity to instantly knock them out.
Lee stood proudly above the two crumpled bodies, giving him a thumbs up and a gleaming grin. �Why should you get all the fun?�
Only years of practice kept Neji from rolling his eyes, although with his Anbu mask still on it wasn�t necessary.
Neji heard the sound of fighting and realized that Chouji, Temari, and Kankurou had also arrived. Snickers drew his attention back to the men surrounding him and he realized that they were laughing at Lee.
It wasn�t the first time people had underestimated Lee based on his looks. His bowl cut, large eyebrows, and outfit made entirely of green spandex did present quite the goofy picture, however, Neji knew that he was not a man to be trifled with.
�Neji!� Lee boomed. �You deal with that one.� He pointed to the cloud nin. �I�ll take care of the rest!�
Neji blinked. Lee was also quite observant when he wanted to be.
Several laughs went up around the circle. �You wish, freak!� someone said.
If it was possible, Lee�s wide grin grew even bigger. �Your words are borne of jealousy. I understand my friends!� Lee said, giving the man next to him no time to react as he threw his leg out in a kick and knocked him several feet away.
Angrily, the circle around Neji shifted, creating a new circle around Lee, who was jumping from foot to foot enthusiastically.
�Well, Neji-kun, looks like it�s just us for now,� the former Cloud nin said. �But I rather prefer it that way, don�t you?�
With his Byakugan Neji saw as other Konoha ninja�s arrived. Confident in his comrades� abilities to hold the Akatsuki off while he fought this man, he turned his attention back to his opponent.
~*~*~
There had been no one but the two Anbu at the southern boarder when Sasuke and Hinata had checked it. Neither the Sharingan not the Byakugan saw anything out of the ordinary. Certain that no attack was coming from the south, Sasuke sent his Anbu back to the Hokage.
The Anbu on the western border said the same as the southern. No suspicious movement or activity. Taking a quick glance around with the Sharingan, Sasuke saw nothing out of the ordinary and sent those Anbu back to the tower as well.
When they were gone he glanced down at Hinata, who was scanning the nearby woods with Byakugan. Sasuke was glad that the Sharingan only changed the color of his eyes rather than raising the blood vessels around them. Hinata�s eyes presented a slightly frightening picture.
�Uchiha-san,� Hinata said softly, pale eyes never leaving the forest. �I can see a chakra signature out there. It could just be a big animal�but it could be someone trying to mask their chakra.�
Instantly the Sharingan was back in place and Sasuke scanned the forest again. He could not see chakra like Hinata, but if there were movement he would be able to detect it.
�Is it moving?� he asked.
�No, it�s completely still,� she informed him.
�Not exactly animal behavior is it?�
�No,� she said with a slight shake of her head.
�Is there only one?� he asked.
�Just one in my range of vision.�
�I�ll go check it out,� Sasuke said. �You go back to the tower and get a few Anbu over here.�
�With all due respect, Uchiha-san, you can�t see him. You could be ambushed if you go alone,� Hinata said.
His look of surprise was hidden behind his mask. She had always seemed too timid to refuse an order�especially from the captain of the Anbu. He was impressed.
�We don�t know what�s out there,� he said. �I�m not sending a chuunin to investigate on her own, even if you can see it.�
�Perhaps we should go together then?� she suggested, still not removing her eyes from the chakra in the forest.
Sasuke thought for a moment before nodding. Hinata didn�t need to look at him to see the movement and she began walking towards the forest with Sasuke trailing her.
~*~*~
�Kakashi, my rival!� Gai called over the noise of the battle. He slammed his fist into an attacker�s head, causing him to fall to the ground in an unconscious heap. �That was nine for me!�
Kakashi tossed a kunai with both his left and right hand, the men charging him from either side falling dead before reaching him. �Numbers sixteen and seventeen,� Kakashi calmly told him, knowing that if he didn�t give Gai the number, the other man would just keep harassing him.
�Ah!� Gai cried. �You are a worthy rival! If you defeat me I shall do three hundred one handed push-ups!�
Kakashi�s visible eye rolled as he blocked a punch from an enemy and brought his knee up to connect painfully between his attackers legs. The man fell to his knees and Kakashi knocked him out with the blunt end of his kunai.
A distance away was Gaara, who hadn�t moved from his position since they�d teleported to the eastern border. He made easy work of the ninjas around him, crushing them with his sand. He looked almost bored and, not for the first time, Kakashi was glad that the red haired man was an ally rather than an enemy.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the Anbu fall, a kunai imbedded in her neck.
He noticed almost too late that he was being slowly backed towards the large stone wall that separated the battle from the village. He began to try and push forward, aiming mostly for the attackers directly in front of him to create an opening for him to move through.
Many of the attackers were ignoring him, Gai, Gaara, and the remaining Anbu, simply trying to get around them and climb the wall into the village.
Kakashi ducked as a sword swung through the air, slicing the space his neck had been in moments before. Throwing out his leg from his crouched position, he kicked the swordsman�s legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground.
Standing and looking back to the wall, Kakashi tried to figure out how to stop those walking up. He spun, catching the kunai that had been headed towards his head.
He pulled his hitai-ate up to rest across his forehead, revealing the red Sharingan eye that usually remained hidden. There were simply too many people for four men to hold off. He couldn�t prevent the wall from being breached without dividing his attention and ending up with his head cut off or a kunai in him.
There was a scream behind him and Kakashi turned in time to see one of the men fall from the wall, a kunai in his chest. Another two fell and Kakashi saw Naruto standing calmly on top of the wall, throwing weapons down and knocking the invaders easily from the wall.
A loud pop sounded and suddenly a huge group of Konoha shinobi appeared, jumping directly into the fray.
A man rushed at Kakashi, kunai raised, and wound up with an elbow in the face. The Akatsuki member fell to the ground, unmoving.
�Very hip move, Kakashi!� Gai cried, using one of his long green clad legs to high kick an enemy in the head, knocking him out. He laughed loudly. �Seventeen!�
~*~*~
Tenten had no difficulties picking off the people who were attempting to climb the wall. Her accuracy had been one hundred percent since she was a genin.
Several kunai suddenly came whizzing at her and she back flipped out of the way, channeling chakra to her hands and feet to remain on the wall. Righting herself, she immediately hit two more wall climbers.
A gust of wind next to her caused her to look to her left. Her Anbu mask hid her surprise.
Temari stood slightly near her on the wall with her back to Tenten and her large fan open so one purple circle was showing. Tenten saw several kunai, shuriken, and daggers fall through the air to land heavily on the ground.
�Standing up here makes you a nice target,� Temari said, her eyes scanning the battle below them.
Tenten threw three kunai with one hand. They parted in midair and each hit a different target, knocking three men from the wall simultaneously.
�Let�s just hope that none of the Akatsuki has aim like mine then,� she said, her voice icy.
Ever since their first chuunin exam Tenten didn�t care much for Temari. Tenten was a proud person and the loss she had suffered against Temari had been a major wound to her pride. On Temari�s few visits to Konoha since then, the blonde woman had picked up on Tenten�s dislike and now the two of them had something of a small rivalry�despite the fact that they had not fought since the exam.
Tenten saw a barrage of weapons suddenly burst from the crowd below. Kunai, daggers, scythes, maces, shuriken, and flails sped towards them. Temari opened her fan so two purple dots were showing, then hefted the heavy weapon, leaping closer to Tenten and swinging it.
The oncoming weapons aimed for Tenten were easily pushed away by the subsequent wind, falling haphazardly through the air and out of sight.
�Looks like there is a weapons master down there somewhere,� Temari said.
Tenten nodded, ignoring the fact that Temari had just protected her and knocking a few more men from the wall with shuriken. She began scanning the crowd.
�That many weapons had to have been summoned,� Tenten said, looking for someone with a scroll. Her gaze finally fell on a man not far from the wall. There was a used scroll at his feet and he was pulling another from the pouch around his waist.
�There you are,� she muttered, reaching behind her. Her hand landed on the hilt of her rarely used weapon, tugging it from it�s resting place within the waist of her pants.
There was a rustling of chain and Temari looked over at Tenten, surprised to see her holding a weapon that looked like a scythe, but with a short handle that fit easily in Tenten�s hand. The handle was attached to a very long chain.
She looked from the slightly large weapon to Tenten, trying to figure out how the weapon master had kept it hidden from sight.
�Where do you hide all these weapons?� she asked incredulously, watching as two kunai were launched from Tenten�s free hand to stop two more men on the wall.
Tenten�s rabbit mask turned towards her and Temari could almost see the grin that was probably on her face. �Lots of pockets,� she said.
Tenten slid the chain of the scythe-like weapon across her palm, closing her fingers around it in a strong grip. She began to twirl the weapon at her side, reminding Temari of the spinning of an electric fan.
Once the weapon was spinning at an extremely fast momentum, Tenten moved her arm forward and loosened her fingers, allowing the chain to move easily through her grip. The weapon sped towards the weapon master on the ground.
Looking up, the Akatsuki member saw the scythe flying towards him and leapt above it, landing safely on the ground as it sped past him.
�You missed,� Temari said, flatly.
Tenten said nothing, abruptly tightening her grip on the chain and yanking it back towards her. The sharp weapon changed direction, flying back towards her and slicing violently through the weapon master, who had landed in its path after he�d dodged.
The scythe spun back up to Tenten like a boomerang. She grabbed the handle, catching the flying weapon above her head. The chain rattled loudly as its momentum was cut short.
�I don�t miss,� Tenten said, lowering her arm. With a flick of her wrist she flung the blood from its blade before placing it back into its original position near the small of her back.
�Only when you�re fighting me, then?� Temari said, a smirk on her features.
Tenten suddenly flung a kunai in her direction and her eyes widened in shock. She had no room to dodge and no time to swing her fan.
The kunai flew by her, and she heard a metallic click by her ear. Looking to the side she watched as Tenten�s kunai fell to the ground with another, having stopped it from hitting her in the neck.
�Only when I�m fighting you,� Tenten echoed, returning her attention to the wall.

~*~*~

Sasuke and Hinata made their way silently through the forest. The one comfort Sasuke had was if he couldn�t see the target it was unlikely it could see them.
Hinata pulled to a sudden stop, looking around with a furrowed brow. �There are two more,� she whispered so softly that Sasuke had to strain to hear her.
�Three total?� he asked just as quietly.
She nodded. �Definitely shinobi,� Hinata said. �The two are moving in a standard cover formation. The first one still hasn�t moved.�
�Bait,� Sasuke said.
�He�s moving now, headed this way fast,� she said urgently.
Sasuke unsheathed his katana in a flash. �Where?� he asked. He didn�t bother being quiet anymore; their position was obviously known.
�To your left,� she informed him.
Sasuke turned just as a ninja burst from behind the trees, brandishing an extremely large broadsword. His beefy arms raised the sword above his head, preparing to slash down at Sasuke. Realizing that it would be impossible to stop the momentum of a sword that big with his own katana, Sasuke dove out of the way. The sword buried itself in the ground Sasuke had just stood on.
Sasuke stood, but froze when he noticed the man�s hitai-ate. The metal plate was not slashed and depicted a single music note. A member of the Sound. After the apparent death of Orochimaru the Hidden Village of the Sound had signed a peace agreement with Konoha. But here was a member obviously fighting against them with no mark of the Akatsuki.
The sound ninja had looked up after missing Sasuke, catching sight of Hinata, whose back was to him as she tracked the progress of the other two ninjas. Sasuke saw what was happening too late as the ninja raised his sword and swung at Hinata�s back. He rushed forward to help but knew he wouldn�t make it in time.
The huge sword hit a dome of chakra that suddenly surrounded Hinata. Both the sound nin and Sasuke gaped at her in surprise.
Hinata turned to her attacker, an elegant eyebrow raised. �It�s not nice to attack someone whose back is turned,� she said.
She moved at him with a speed Sasuke couldn�t follow without his Sharingan and appeared before him, resting each of her hands gently on his arms before reaching up and patting him on the chest.
�Get the hell away from me you pupil-less freak,� the sound shinobi said, reaching out his free hand to roughly push her away. Both he and Sasuke were surprised again when she easily dodged the attack, winding up a few feet away from him.
�I�m going to kill you,� the sound nin growled.
Hinata ignored him, walking by him as she headed to where Sasuke stood. Behind her Sasuke watched as the man�s face changed rapidly from anger to pain. His free hand flew to his heart, clutching the fabric of his shirt.
�You bitch!� he screamed. �What did you do?� He took hold of his sword with both hands and went to lift it, only finding that his arms didn�t have the strength. Sasuke watched as the man doubled over, coughing violently. Flecks of blood flew from his mouth. The sound nin fell to the ground, wheezing.
Sasuke stared at Hinata from behind his fox mask, although he assumed that with the Byakugan still activated she could see his incredulous face.
�Neji-niisan has been training me,� she said with a shrug.
�Why aren�t you a jounin?� Sasuke asked.
�I dislike confrontations,� her soft voice said. A tiny smile played on her lips. �The other two are almost here. They�ve split up�one on our right, the other on the left.�
It was quiet as they waited. Sasuke summoned the Sharingan, searching for the sign of any movement. He could hear nothing but his and Hinata�s breathing, and he was beginning to wonder if the sound ninjas had something to do with that. He�d spent enough time in the village to know that several ninjas there had the ability to mask the sounds they didn�t want heard.
�Above you,� Hinata said.
Sasuke looked up and caught sight of a nin crouching on a tree branch. The ninja stood, smirking down at them. �Those are some eyes you have, honey,� he said to Hinata, who made no acknowledgement that she heard him. His gaze roamed the forest, landing on his comrade who now lay dead on the ground.
An eyebrow rose. �And which of you two did that?� he asked, not appearing upset at the loss.
�I did,� Hinata said, in a voice that was louder and clearer than Sasuke was used to hearing from her. She was looking defiantly up at the sound shinobi.
Sasuke caught movement from the corner of his eye and leaned back, allowing several metal needles fly by his face. If he hadn�t had his mask on he was sure he would have felt a small breeze from the thin weapons.
A shinobi stepped out of the shadows to their right, revealing himself. �This one�s eyes don�t seem bad either.� Several throwing needles were between his fingers, ready to be launched at a moments notice.
�I want her,� the man in the tree said, leaping down and landing gracefully in front of Hinata, several yards away. His head protector sat lopsided on his forehead, covering his right eye, but his left was roving over Hinata in a way that made even Sasuke uncomfortable. A predatory grin was stretched across his face.
�Then I guess this one�s mine,� the other sound ninja said, nodding at Sasuke.
And then the two charged their targets.
~*~*~
It had been quite a long time since Naruto had fought only using taijutsu. Even then it had just been for training. He�d never gone into battle without the use of chakra.
It had finally reached dawn, and the sun was rising right in front of them as they defended the eastern boarder. He continued knocking invaders from the wall, glad that it was wide enough to allow for balance without needing chakra to remain standing on top of it.
Naruto looked up suddenly, his head moving back and forth as he concentrated. The normal sounds of battle could be heard, but he was sensing something else. When he�d determined the direction he looked towards the edge of the forest, where the sun illuminated a tall figure standing alone, watching the battle silently. Long white hair whipped in the wind, as Orochimaru stood in Kabuto�s body, happily admiring his handiwork.
This wasn�t right though. He stood alone but what had caught Naruto�s attention in the first place was the large amount of chakra signatures that had appeared. It felt as though there were at least two hundred. If that was the case they were grossly outnumbered. Tsunade hadn�t sent as many men to this boarder because the larger threat had appeared to be at the north.
As the sun rose higher Naruto�s eyes widened. He hadn�t been mistaken. The chakra signatures were indeed there.
Behind Orochimaru stood hundreds of Sound Shinobi, previously hidden in the shadows of the forest. With a loud cry they joined the battle.
~*~*~
A/N: Anyone who watches Inuyasha recognize Tenten�s weapon? It�s what Kohaku uses. I just had to have it in here because I think it�s awesome.
Forgive me again for the long update, I got called for jury duty. How insane is that? I got put on a three-day criminal case. Needless to say I kind of had to pay attention, so writing fanfiction instead of taking notes wasn�t really an option.
lje: thanks for pointing out some of the mistakes. I plan to go through this once it is done and revise it. Unfortunately when you are your own beta reader you sometimes miss the little things.
To the rest of you amazing reviewers out there, thank you so much for the support.
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Walking Corpse